SPOLERS BELOW
Maybe I will be in minority, but after finishing the series, Im firmly of the opinion that the best episodes of the show are the first 4-5. Yes, the pacing is a bit slow, but the show does a great job of creating an interesting world with complex characters and a good drama on top of that. It also does a good job of setting up several narrative hooks and showing the psychological breakdown of Hannah.
I wish the show would just stick to that (I know its based on a book).
This is a tough show to discuss because theres a lot to like here: its overall engaging, complex, raises important themes that you dont usually see on TV, and with such detail. Scenes of abuse, rape and suicide are probably worth to be seen just for a sobering value of the act.
However it is also a show which completely falls apart at the slightiest scrutiny. It tries to be a thriller with a twist, but fails to deliver, it tries to send a strong message, but there is no message to be had, it tries to show complex characters but in the end they are just all idiots which ruins the whole construct.
So heres why 13 Reasons Why is unfortunately a very mediocre show.
Lets start with drama.
The first major driving point is that Clay is implicated in the suicide and is on the tapes. Hes struggling to understand why. The first episodes brilliantly illustrate that Hannah was moving from an outgoing playful girl into insecure and gloomy individual. Clay is set up as someone who is extremely unobservant and doesnt get social cues. Everything falls naturally for him to be on the tapes towards the end as the guy who Hannah would confide into but who just couldnt read her emotions and needs which leads to a suicide. Only that doesnt happen, because Hannah never confides in him, his presence on the tapes is contrived at best, and the only way hes implicated is because hes not a mind reader (Ill get to Hannah later). Why exactly is Clay so distraught? Why is he hating on himself? Theres NOTHING he couldve done and it removes a major part of the drama. Hes not guilty at all
That ties in with the second drama problem: kids who are on tape dont talk to anyone, Tony doesnt give the tapes to the police because Clay has to listen to them all to understand.
Bullshit.
Tony basically sat on criminal evidence for weeks, instead giving it to perpetrators. His character is totally baffling as he haunts Clay who, as Tony knows, is completely innocent, but instead says: Ye, you killed her leading to Clay almost killing himself. Only afterwards, he said, You did nothing wrong, nobody wouldve picked up on the fact that Hannah (Ill get to her later) literally told him to leave and never show his face again. How about you start with that? How about you tell Clay that hes done nothing wrong and therefore not the reason for suicide, let alone directly responsible? And since Tony is not on the tapes, how about giving evidence of rape to the police, especially since you talk to the Hannahs broken family, who didnt get to hear anything and are suing the school
All the other kids are filled with self-loathing based on pathetically weak reasoning. Lets be clear: the only major trigger for suicide from the tapes is the rape. Everything else in comparison is pathetically weak, and most of it can be traced back to Hannah. Maybe the stalker guy could get in trouble, but everyone else? So Justins fault is to take a picture which later gets disseminated, Alex made a list of hot girls which shes a part of (and that leads him on such a guilt trip of being weak that he shoots himself in the head, by the way), Jessica slaps her once based on rumors, and Zach
. Reacted proportionally to himself being humiliated in front of all school for being vulnerable for once (Ill get Hannah later!!). What did the poetry guy do to be so upset and not releasing the tapes? Oh, I guess, he published her poem anonymously, which led to a class discussion about hiding deep-seated issues which is actually healthy, no? Oh, and I dont know about USA but in Europe we have a STOP sign, a STOP line and a priority to the right rule on intersections, so Sheri did a stupid thing but overreacting much? You should stop at the line anyway, whether theres a sign or not. Wheres all the guilt coming from? Especially since Hannah goes from likeable teenager experiencing a downfall to a pathetic idiot.
Third drama point: Hannah may be lying on tapes, Clay has to listen (especially to his tape!). Culminates with the episode where she believes Zach discarded her emotions while he actually keeps the paper. Ohhh, drama!! But no, everything else she said is basically all true and theres NOTHING on Clays tape which ties into Hannah might be lying construct. Why did the kids then talk all the time about how Clay would change his mind after hearing his own tape? This plot hole baffles me as it ties with the most important reason to care about the show and its resolution is not only a letdown but has almost Mass-Effect-3-ending backwards repercussions. Its laughable.
And here we come to the morale part. A major aspect of the show is the depiction of bullying, abuse, suicide, and rape in a very somber and grounded way. Its meant to make us think, its meant to deliver a message. Only that message in the end seems to be Everyone is a special snowflake. Im sorry, Im not really a guy to call out SJWs and I do believe that people should be nicer and respect others but this is way too much.
You cant berate teenagers for being teenagers, from different families, backgrounds, with raging hormones and no experience in life. Its unfair to call out people gaining life experience during their formative years through not only positive reinforcement but also through struggles and pain and hurt.
The main problem is that the series tries to say that everyone who even looked bad at Hannah is responsible, but it just falls flat. You need struggles in your life to grow. In the end, all I can think of is that its Hannah who just wasnt capable of dealing with anything in her life. If a message is to correct every single deed from making lists of hot girls at school all the way to rape, then its diluted and unclear.
The last major issue with the whole thing is how unlikeable Hannah becomes. I have no qualms saying that no matter how shocking and graphic the suicide scene was, I was almost cheering her on to do it. The She might be lying arc makes her do stupid things and the reasons once again have such a degree of variation that its unbelievable that they are all called out equally. How the hell does what Zach did compare to rape? Hows a poem?
And what about Hannahs actions. Clay is so broken over her death and starts his own vendetta, but, in truth, he shouldnt really bother or be upset with anyone, because most of the time its Hannahs fault. Hannah leads on boys way too much. Hannah overreacts and doesnt forgive or reconcile with friends. Hannah witnesses rape and doesnt report it to anyone, including her friend who got raped (?). And, as the biggest WTF moment, in the penultimate episode, she conveniently walks into the rapists house, undresses herself to her underwear and stays in a hottub with the guy alone. Ohhh, whats going to happen next, I wonder? Can I just say that I have no sympathy for her at this point without being a jerk? I mean nobody deserves to get raped, but people who act THAT STUPID, probably are on the top of the list.
But wait theres more!!! At no point until the very end, Hannah talks to anyone about anything. In fact, all these kids have issues and dont talk to anyone, including school counselor, their parents or even their friends. Thats utterly unbelievable to me. But Hannah goes one step further, several times the reason why shes hurt is because people cannot read her mind, including Clay and school counselor. I will go on a limb and say to all women: men are not good at reading your mind!! Speak the fuck up in simple terms and well do anything for you!! In case of Hannahs mind, I dont think anyone couldve read that level of crazy. Why didnt he stay after I told him to fuck off 5 times? Why wouldnt he run after me?
And the kicker is: Hannah is not a psychic either! She berates Justin but he didnt release the photo, she berates Zach who is probably the one who got hurt more, she puts Clay on the tapes for no reason at all, causing him to go through unnecessary trauma, she didnt expect the rapist to rape her while they are alone in the hottub.
Let me be very clear: I do not mind all characters to present shades of gray. I actually like a lot how many kids are depicted and how their life situations are different etc. etc. But painting Hannah this way completely distorts the message. The series depicts violence, bullying, rape but it cannot make a stand against these things, because the victim is always partially responsible. Hannah is supposed to be pure a model, to contrast with all the terrible things happening around her, but, in the end, shes just part of the problem and we have no clear stand against rape, against bullying, against not speaking up.
So here it is: a series with great premise and structure which, ultimately just doesnt deliver on any front, in my opinion. I know its based on the book, but there is a LOT of wasted opportunity here to do better. Id say 5/10 just because technically its very well done, but I cant say I care about season two or, rewatching it. I do not think its essential for anyone to watch it, because you may get the wrong lesson out of it and thats pretty bad when you talk about rape and suicide.